Arrow leaves Portage dog with three legs

PORTAGE -- After being shot with an arrow and having more than $6,000 worth of surgery and treatments, Dudley -- a fluffy and friendly 10-year-old black Labrador-retriever-chow mix -- is expected home today following the amputation of a front leg Wednesday.

Dudley has been a mainstay in the Westlake area of Portage since being adopted by Tim and Betsy Bennett in 1997. He roams the neighborhood, and neighbors routinely welcome him into their yards for visits.

But Dudley's life changed Sept. 12, when he was found near Westlake Nature Preserve with an arrow in his body.

Dudley's assailant has not been caught, and a $500 reward has been offered for information that leads to the shooter's capture. Shooting a dog with an arrow is a felony.

"It's been really disturbing for all of us," said Betsy Bennett, who lives on West End Street with her husband, Tim, and daughter Chloe, 14, a Portage Central High School freshman. Their son, Carson Bennett, 19, is a sophomore at Michigan State University.

When Dudley was found, the arrow had entered one side of his body, crushed his shoulder and come through his other side. It was the direct hit on the bone that caused the most injury, but the blow also probably saved Dudley's life.

"When the arrow hit the bone, it deflected the arrow forward, and it missed his heart by just a couple inches," Betsy Bennett said.

The arrow was removed in September at Sprinkle Road Animal Hospital. A second operation was performed at Kalamazoo Animal Hospital to try to save the leg, but it didn't work. So Dudley's leg was amputated Wednesday at Oakwood Animal Hospital in Kalamazoo.

His shoulder never properly healed after the second operation, which cost $3,200. He also developed an infection that required daily antibiotic injections for 10 days at a cost of $700.

Added to the $700 to have the arrow removed, $400 for various other procedures and $1,200 for the amputation, the Bennetts have spent approximately $6,200 to save Dudley's life.

"We have had conversations, hard conversations, about what the limit is we could spend on his medical bills," said Betsy Bennett, who works at National City Bank in Galesburg. Tim Bennett works at People Power Productions, a video-production company in Kalamazoo. "Dudley is a member of our family. You don't just give up.

"It was hard to have his leg amputated, but we didn't feel there was any choice. It was just hanging there, and it caused him pain."

Dr. Jonathon Barkow, the veterinarian who amputated the leg, told the Bennetts that Dudley would be home today and that recovery time would be about a month.

"If I know Dudley, he'll be out and about in a couple weeks," Bennett said.